<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>A Bite of the Apple by MirandaShepard_93</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714809">A Bite of the Apple</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirandaShepard_93/pseuds/MirandaShepard_93'>MirandaShepard_93</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>First Nights [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>GreedFall (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blowjobs, Coercion, Cunnilingus, Dark Kurt, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Dubious Consent, F/M, dubcon, when mutual pining goes horribly wrong</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:28:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,559</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714809</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirandaShepard_93/pseuds/MirandaShepard_93</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurts feelings for De Sardet only grew when they landed in New Sèréne, but new companions and duties drew her further and further away from him even as he pined for her. Left to the mercy of the traitor Coin Guard leadership and forced to face his demons alone he grew to resent her, but the love wouldn't go. When faced with her during the coup, he takes one last chance for a small taste of what could have been. </p><p>E.g. the dubcon, angsty fic that lives rent free in my head and demanded to be written even though I hate it. If you're not into these darker themes check out 'Blooming Rose' which is a much sweeter take on the events. Last warning, guys, this is pretty grim. </p><p>Part of the "First Nights" series because I can't decide how these two should pop their joint cherry, so to speak.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kurt/De Sardet (GreedFall)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>First Nights [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101719</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Bite of the Apple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The footfalls were the first warning sign - there were too many in unison, falling with too much force. As the door opened behind Rose, they came into sharp, frightening focus. She turned in time to see the look on Kurts face, drawn and almost sorrowful, before it was masked by that cold, indifferent glare that he had worn all those years ago. Before they were friends, </p><p>"Kurt?" Constantin started to rise, "what's-"</p><p>"Sit," Kurt barked, </p><p>"I..." Constantin sat, an old response to that familiar voice, but his face quickly clouded with rage, "how dare you? I am the governor-" even as he puffed with self-righteous fury, Rose wanted to tell her dear cousin to be cautious. Kurts shoulders were squared, his chin was raised; the deference, which she now remembered they actually paid for, was gone from him. Constantin was climbing into a pit with a dangerous animal, and she knew he was in no condition to take the fight on. </p><p>"Shut up, boy," Kurt barked and raised his hand, "Coin Guard." As she watched the men file in, Rose realised with a shiver that her friend, if he had ever been her friend, was dead. This man was not Kurt, but the Coin Guard Captain who had worn his face for over a decade. A trained killer, and as he prowled forward, men at his back seeming to strain against invisible bonds, she was unsure if she was capable of taking the fight to him in any effective way. As Kurt drew his pistol Vasco rushed him, receiving a whiplash quick elbow to the face for his troubles; the guards behind Kurt grabbed him as he hit the floor, one drawing his dagger, <br/><br/></p><p>"No!" Her cry was shrill enough to cut the air, making everyone stop for a fraction of a second, enough to wrest some control into her own hands, "this has nothing to do with him, whatever it is he needn't be harmed." The men faltered, Kurts eyes narrowed, "he's a Naut Captain, for Gods sake," Rose cried, clutching desperately at straws, "if you kill him you'll do no business with them again. Even you must know you need the Nauts."</p><p>"Who's going to tell them it was us, Green Blood?" Kurt asked with a bitter laugh, "the good Governor?" </p><p>"I'm sure they'll figure it out, Kurt, they're not stupid." </p><p>The silence drew out like a gallows rope between them, </p><p>"Fine, lock him in a room. Somewhere secure." Kurt waved his hand. Vasco, now regaining his senses, started to kick, </p><p>"No, get your hands off of me," he shouted, twisting desperately, when he turned to her, Rose understood that the panic in his eyes was for her, not himself, "Rosie!" He called for her as they pulled him out of the door, and for a moment, as his head turned to watch them, Rose saw a flash of hate cross Kurts face, so volatile and intense that she had to repress a gasp. </p><p>"Rosie," Kurt murmured, "that's sweet, Green Blood, does he call you that in bed?"</p><p>"Kurt!" Rose gaped, head jerking as if she had been slapped, and for a second there was a shiver of... something in his eyes. Something like shame. Then the portcullis fell again and he turned to stone, lifting his hand, </p><p>"Aim." Another flash of something more tender, "sorry, Green Blood." The men behind him raised their guns, pointing mostly at Constantin, but a few seemed to sway to her. "Ready weapons-"</p><p>"No!" She lunged in front of Constantin, "Kurt... why? At least tell me why? What did we do?" He laughed and shook his head, </p><p>"It's nothing personal," he said, lying through his teeth, </p><p>"Liar."</p><p>"It's not. This is happening in every major settlement on the island, Green Blood, you dainties are so trusting. So naive. So dependent on our protection -" He shook his head, "so ripe for violence. How long did you think the Guard would be happy to play servant to a bunch of pampered children with no means of defending themselves? So, no it's not personal. You did nothing. In fact, that's why this is happening, you did <em>nothing</em>." The last word was bitter as bile, but it was the other one, 'you', that seemed to be truly emphasised. </p><p>"Please," she whispered, "Kurt please don't kill Constantin."</p><p>"You think you're safe?" He asked, brows shooting to his hairline even as a shocked laugh left him, </p><p>"No, I know... but Constantin is sick, please, let him go... he won't be a threat if you let him return to the continent. Send him away with Vasco. Buy the Guard some goodwill-" she crept forward, whimpering when he drew his pistol again, "please, Kurt, let him go - take me instead."</p><p>"Rose, no!" Constantin tried to stand but dissolved into a fit of coughing. She wanted to go to him, but the sudden change in Kurt, fleeting but frightening, had rooted her in place, </p><p>"Not an option, Green Blood," he said, </p><p>"Kurt,"</p><p>"You think if I had the choice of sparing one of you it would be <em>him</em>?" It was quiet, so quiet that it was almost lost in Constantin's coughing, "run," he added as another fit took Constantin, "and I'll send the runts to retrieve you." it was almost tender, almost an offer of clemency, and then the sting in the tail, "take your Naut with you." The dislike, like a spasm, crossed his face and his free hand twictched, as if the thought of her and Vasco leaving together was enough to make him want to strangle her himself. </p><p>"I see," she said, and he flushed - the realisation of what he had let slip hitting him as quickly as it had her, "Kurt," she said his name softly, stepping forward even as the men behind him rustled and shivered with anticipation, soon one of them would take initiative, "please. I beg you,"</p><p>"Don't," he said hoarsely, </p><p>"Please, let Constantin go. Take me instead," she lowered her chin and her voice, looking up at him from under her lashes, "I'll stay. I won't run. I'll take his punishment,"</p><p>"Green Blood,"</p><p>"I'll do anything you ask. I'll do anything." His eyes were on her, as if transfixed, pupils slowly dilating, mouth slightly open. His eyes flicked, lighting fast, down as she stepped forward again, letting the barrel of his gun press to her chest, </p><p>"Captain?" One of the men called, breaking the spell, Rose could have cursed him, moments before a crash echoed in the city, </p><p>"Shit," Kurt snapped, "go see what that was." They hesitated. "All of you - <em>go.</em>"</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"The day I can't manage a sickly boy and a highborn tart is the day I resign my commission," he snarled, "go and make sure the city is still in our hands. Tell the Commander I have this in hand. Put the rest with the Naut." </p><p> </p><p>They rushed out, letting dragging Siora, Petrus, and Aphra with them, despite their protests. In the new silence, Rose was overwhelmed by the weak rattle of Constantins breathing as it clashed with her own breathy gasps. How frail they sounded when she should see the steady rise and fall of Kurt's chest. How often had she counted those breaths when he shielded her in the wilds? How often had she listened to his heart as they wrestled? How often had she imagined hearing them in the early morning light? The man in front of her was a changeling, she thought, it was the only way that Kurt, loyal, dependable, tender Kurt, could treat her like this. This was a stone statue in the image of the man whose arms she had been so desperate to crawl into, once. Kurt looked at Constantin and then at her, as if weighing his options, and she understood that he still loved them. Or her, at least. </p><p>"Please, Kurt," she pushed the gun to the side, making his eyes flick down to her as she stepped into his arms, hooking her fingers over the top of his doublet, "please, I beg you, let him go." It was almost a whisper. Behind her Master de Courcillon was saying something to Constantin. Kurt's eyes flicked up and narrowed, making her resist the urge to howl in frustration. Damn the schoolmaster, couldn't he be silent once, "I will stay in my cousins stead," she said, louder, </p><p>"You will not," Master de Courcillon snapped, "I see this animals game as clearly as I see his moral decay." Her face burned, but so, she realised with surprise, was Kurts. The flush that crept up his neck was undoubtedly a blush, caused by shame or embarrassment. Or perhaps both. </p><p>"Shut your mouth, teacher, or I'll shut it for you. Permanently." He looked down at her, "no."</p><p>"Please."</p><p>"Rose, no," Constantin gasped weakly, "Kurt, you know she is not my blood cousin, you must, she is no threat. Let her go free. Captain Vasco will take her far from the island."</p><p>"I'm sure he would," Kurt drawled, </p><p>"If you have it in you to show mercy, let Rose go."</p><p>"That would be my preferred choice," he said, making Constantin and de Courcillon fall silent. Ever the savvy negotiator, Rose took her chance,</p><p>"I won't go," she said, raising a hand to silence them, "I won't leave you." She said loudly, knowing they would take it as loyalty to her cousin. Only Kurt saw the look on her face. The look she had carefully crafted as they argued over her head; wide-eyed, innocent, lips wet and parted, chest heaving. "I won't do it," she said, "you may as well let Constantin go, Kurt, if you do not you'll have to kill us both."</p><p>"You think that's an issue, Green Blood?" He asked with a  bitter laugh, cocking his pistol, pointing it at Constantin, </p><p>"It must be, or we'd already be dead."</p><p>"Touché, Excellency," Kurt said, suddenly flushing with warmth as he suppressed a smile. The sigh seemed to come from the bottom of his soul.</p><p>"Please, Kurt," she whispered, "if you ever felt anything real for me, I beg you, let him go. I'll stay. I'll take his place. I'll do anything." His eyes flicked down, and Rose saw it again - a deep, almost yearning hunger so strong it scared her. As if he wanted more than her body. </p><p>"Don't make promises like that, Rose," he said, voice almost a whisper, </p><p>"I already have." She watched his face in the silence that followed, watched it has his eyes raised to Constantin, narrowed, and them closed, </p><p>"Out."</p><p>"Oh thank-"</p><p>"In <em>silence," </em> he growled, and Rose shivered, feeling it hum through his armour and into her hands, </p><p>"Yes... I.... Rose, come," Constantin said. Kurt's hand closed on her elbow even though she didn't move. Her stomach churned as she turned, feeling his fingers tighten almost desperately, for a second she wondered what he would do if she ran. Even if he did shoot, he couldn't hit all three of them. In her mind, she imagined running from him when the only way was up, up to Constantin's bedchambers where there was a hidden passage and shivered. </p><p>"No, Constantin," she said and looked at Master de Courcillon. The horror on his face told her that he understood at least part of what she had implicitly promised, "Master de Courcillon, take my cousin to safety, please."</p><p>"The Naut will be locked in the Minister's office on the first floor," Kurt said suddenly, </p><p>"Rose," Constantin said, eyes watery, "my fair cousin."</p><p>"I love you, Constantin," she whispered, "please <em>go.</em>" </p><p>Master de Courcillon took his elbow and pulled him into the stairway, Rose shuddered when the door locked behind them. </p><p> </p><p>She turned slowly to meet his eyes; Kurt was staring at her as if she had appeared from nowhere. He let go of her elbow suddenly as if burned and raised his pistol to her head. Fear thrilled through her even as relief washed it away. Perhaps he was a better man than she feared. But he didn't pull the trigger, </p><p>"You should have left, Green Blood," he said, sounding choked, </p><p>"You said you would always protect me," she said, words suddenly loosed by the inevitability of the end, "all I ever wanted was your protection, Kurt, you're right - I was naive, I am helpless, I did depend on your for my safety and I really believed you would always be there for me." His brows drew down as he cocked the pistol again, "just tell me why," she sobbed, "after all this time. All we've been through. I really believe that you loved me, once,"</p><p>"I still do," he said, "not that it matters."</p><p>"It matters to me!"</p><p>"Does it?" </p><p>"Of course, Kurt," Rose said, voice hoarse, throat tight and sore, </p><p>"Liar."</p><p>"Why would I lie about this? Now of all times? I know you won't spare me." She spread her arms. "I know you can't. So just tell me, why would you do this to me if you love me?"</p><p>"Why do you care?"</p><p>"Because..." she faltered, "because there was a time when all I wanted was to love you in return." His eyes widened, </p><p>"Years ago, maybe,"</p><p>"This morning."</p><p>"Don't," his voice rose to a roar, making her flinch," lie to me."</p><p>"I'm not-"</p><p>"Then where have you been, Green Blood? All this last year? Where were you when I had to examine Reiners body alone? Where were you when I..." Kurt closed his eyes, "Stupid question. I know where you were. You were with your Naut."</p><p>"He's not <em>my </em>Naut."</p><p>"He'd like to be."</p><p>"By the sounds of it, he's not alone," she countered with sudden anger, making him smile, </p><p>"No, Green Blood, I'm not the same as your Naut. I never wanted to be yours."</p><p>"No?"</p><p>"No, I wanted to make you mine."</p><p>"You could have," she said, "you chose not to!"</p><p>"How would that have looked, do you think?" He asked, "a lowborn, coarse, vulgar mercenary opening his guts to his charge? Would the court have laughed at me, do you think?"</p><p>"I wouldn't-"</p><p>"Better yet, even if you're telling true, what do you think they'd do to a Coin Guard caught with his hand in the Princesses drawers? Would they have killed me, or just cut my cock off?" His face was flushed, eyes flicking down to her body, and there was heat under the fury, </p><p>"I don't know." She let her shoulders slump. "But I loved you, Kurt, I did. I still do, though I hate you for this."</p><p>"As do I, Green Blood," he snorted, voice cracking, "as I always will."</p><p>"You don't have to do it. We could run," she whispered, slinking up to him, "together, we could disappear. Everyone will assume we're dead."</p><p>"And I'm sure I will be the minute I go to sleep," he said, but the ice in his eyes was thawing, </p><p>"No, I couldn't kill you." Rose hooked her fingers into his doublet again, pulling him close. "Never that."</p><p>"Don't." It was almost a plea as their lips brushed, his hand slid into her hair, </p><p>"All you have to do is- ah-" Rose gasped as his hand turned into a fist and he dragged her back, </p><p>"There's nothing I can do, Green Blood," he said, "nothing that gets us both out alive... but you'll have to forgive me if I take my chance now."</p><p>"Kurt, please-" His mouth crashed onto hers, brutal and demanding. Her hands, which had been scrabbling at his, trying to free her hair, reached for his neck. Despite herself, she slid them around to clasp behind him. She told herself it was a ploy. She would run at the first chance and damn the consequences, but her head was spinning, her heart was hammering. Rose yelped and twisted her head away, feeling hair tear free from her scalp, when his free hand pushed between her legs to hold her in a firm, almost bruising, grip, "no," she gasped, </p><p>"Anything," he murmured, "you promised me anything, Green Blood."</p><p>"I..." Rose started to speak, eyes focussed on the floor, body shaking like a leaf in the wind. He didn't threaten to track Constantin down, but then again he didn't need to. She closed her eyes, let the tear fall, "I hate you." She swallowed the shame and the part of that statement that should have followed - that she hated herself, too, for still wanting him. </p><p>"I know," he whispered, "I do too." His hand flex and she gasped, squirming in his grasp. "I do, too, Green Blood." His breath was hot on her neck as he leaned to kiss it, grip on her hair loosening as his hand ran down to her throat, squeezing lightly, almost in time with the one that massaged her cunt through her heavy travel skirts. "So, what is it to be?"</p><p>"Do what you must." She said it a little too quickly for her own liking and fixed her eyes on the wall. </p><p>"On your knees." </p><p>She snorted, </p><p>"Fine, on your knees if it please your Excellency," he said with something close to the old warmth, and her heart broke. She looked up at him from the ground, </p><p>"This could have been so different," she said as she undid the laces and opened his breeches, </p><p>"I didn't know that this morning," was all he had to say. </p><p> </p><p>It was perverse to think he had a good cock, but she did; her face flushed, her stomach churned. Her cunt throbbed, making her eyes water with something halfway between shame and lust. </p><p>"I-" he started to speak, but she took him in deep, cutting him off. Whatever he had to say, she didn't want to hear it. Kurt moaned, hand slipping into her hair again. It was a surprisingly sweet sound; low and melodious and honey-deep and it made her skin crawl. She squeezed her eyes shut and sucked, hollowing her cheeks, "fuck." The hand tugged her hair gently, "look at me," he gasped softly, "look at me." A sharper tug. Rose opened her eyes and tried to give him a sweet look, filled with as much heat as she could find, as she worked her mouth around him. If this could be kept short, perhaps she could forget... the look in his eyes was soft and warm and tender. He was delusional. He was mad, he had to be, he was treating her like his lover rather than the woman he had coerced into sucking his cock before he shot her. "You're so beautiful," he said it with the kind of awe she had always imagined he would when she rutted against a pillow in the dark of night. Rose closed her eyes and took him deeper, throat making obscene, wet sounds that almost drowned out the guttural, needy grunts and groans coming from him. </p><p>Kurt pulled away and dragged her to her feet suddenly, leaving her dazed, and herded her back until her legs hit something. She fell back into Constantins chair and whimpered as Kurt pulled her hips forward until her legs were on either side of his hips. Rose whimpered and kicked, gripped with fear not at the thought of him fucking her, but at the realisation that he would see how he affected her. </p><p>"Shh," he whispered, "it's ok, Rosie," the smile she felt against her ear was sadistic, it had to be. She heard Vasco calling for her again, "I've been in your shoes, I'm not going to hurt you." He kissed her cheeks, forehead, mouth. "I won't hurt you. Never." Until you kill me, she should have said, but all she could do was stare at him and wonder when he had been in her position. He pulled at the front of her dress, unsure of how to unlace it; she undid it with shaking fingers before frustration led him to tear it. Her crotch throbbed at the thought - another traitor. The scratch of his beard down her chest almost drew out a hysterical giggle; he looked up at her with a smile, </p><p>"Tickles?" </p><p>"Yes," she said without thought, and he pressed a kiss over her heart, breaking it all over again. How many times now, she wondered. How many more? She ground her teeth when he drew her nipple into his mouth, fighting the gasp of pleasure as electricity shot to her core. His fingers slid up her thighs, "no, Kurt please I-" and under her smalls to brush her slit. He released her nippled with a sigh that chilled the saliva on her skin and looked at her with something on his face that she couldn't quite read, </p><p>"You were telling the truth," he said and ran his fingers through the shameful slick that had spread to her inner thighs, </p><p>"Yes,"</p><p>"Still?" He pushed two fingers into her, "even after... even now?"</p><p>"Yes," she swallowed the shame, but her tears gave her away even as the first curl of his fingers made her moan and squirm, </p><p>"I'm sorry, love," he murmured into her ear, kissing it, "I know you'll never forgive me."</p><p>"You don't have to do this," she whispered as his thumb pressed to her clit and circled, making her gasp,</p><p>"I know," he said, "but I want to give you something in return."</p><p>He was mad, Rose thought, utterly mad. And then he pulled her forward and bent to press his face between her thighs and she found the thread of his logic... just in time to lose it to the pleasure that swept through her when he closed his lips around her clit and pulled it gently into his mouth. She bent, muscles pulling taut, and then bowed around him. He made quick work of her pleasure, shamefully quick considering the situation. Rose bit the heel of her hand and stared out the window at the tree branches as the orgasm crashed down on her, making her howl. He pulled her hand away, "let me hear you - please," the words were formless - his fingers coaxed the last shockwaves out of her and as the final peak hit she gasped his name, letting it loose before she could choke it. When she found the strength to open her eyes, Kurt was looking at her with soft, sad eyes. She turned her head as he tried to kiss her, whining and twisting when he grabbed her chin in his bruising grip. Such a painful process for such a soft kiss. </p><p> </p><p>The slap rang out around the room. Her hand stung. Kurt looked at the ground, </p><p>"Don't," she said, "I... that is not covered by <em>anything </em>Captain. You can take what you want from my body, but you do not get my tenderness."</p><p>"Just your cunt, your desire, and your voice when you moan my name like a bought and paid for whore?" He countered with sudden, blinding viciousness. She kicked out at him with a growl, but he only caught her leg and pulled her from the throne, pinning her under him, "it's ok, Green Blood," he whispered, "it's nearly over now." The sweetness was gone; he thrust into her without ceremony,</p><p>"I hate you,"</p><p>"I know," he gasped, "you always will, trust me I know."</p><p>"I..." Rose ground her teeth and moaned when he hit a soft, tender spot deep inside of her, "god."</p><p>"That's alright," he said it so calmly that he might have been his old self if he hadn't been wrestling her legs onto his shoulders, "it's not your fault," he said, closing his eyes to groan, "it's not your fault. It's ok to enjoy it, I-</p><p>"I am <em>not,"  </em>she spat with as much conviction as she could and he gave her that funny, lopsided grin, leaned to kiss her, and pulled away hissing when she bit hard enough to draw blood, </p><p>"Yes you are," he grunted, "you're wet as sin and blushing, Green Blood," he gasped suddenly, eyes squeezing shut, "I can feel you, getting close,"</p><p>"I won't," she twisted, "not this time."</p><p>"You will, and then it'll be done." He pushed his hand between them and brought her off with a few quick strokes of his thumb. Rose ground her teeth and shook her head through it, whimpering, gripped with sudden cold realisation as he stiffened and let out a low, shuddering groan. Not that it mattered, she thought, nothing would come of it. There would be no time. Kurt shuddered above her, breathing deeply. As he softened and slipped from her, followed by a sudden gush of warmth, Rose realised he was weeping. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed suddenly, "I'm sorry."</p><p>"I know," Rose said, staring at the ceiling. He was mad. He had to be. These were not the actions of a sane man. Something in him was broken. She clung to that like a raft in a churning ocean as he pulled away and helped her replace her smalls, smoothed her skirts, retired her bodice. As he tidied himself up and helped her to her feet. "How did it come to this?" She asked, tongue numb, "what did I do to turn you against me, Kurt?" She blinked away the tears, </p><p>"Nothing, Green Blood," he said, "I was already broken."</p><p>"Horse shit," she snapped, "that's an excuse and you know it. I grew up and you hated me for it. You hated that I didn't <em>need </em>you anymore."</p><p>"No," Kurt stooped to pick up his gun, "no... that's not it. I'm proud of you," he said with a weak, wobbly smile, "I mean that, Rose."</p><p>"I loved you."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"You hurt me, Kurt."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"You said you would always protect me."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"You lied to me,"</p><p>"No." He said and cocked the pistol, "I failed you, but that won't happen again."</p><p>"Of that I'm sure," Rose said with a calm that shocked her. There was no point in begging for her life. </p><p>"I love you, Rose."</p><p>"Go to hell."</p><p>"I will," he said, smiled, and tucked the gun under his own chin, pulling the trigger before she could react. There was no moment of peace before the grief. There was no serene relief to help her. There weren't even eyes for her to close; the scream of loss ripped out of her as the bullet blew its way out of his skull. Rose couldn't say how she found Vasco. Perhaps he found her. Constantin gripped her arms as the ship pulled away - he looked funny, she thought, in servants clothing. In the hold, disguised as Nauts, they had waited for Guardsmen to storm the ship, but Vasco had somehow given them the identity of dead Nauts, stalling for their lives as sailors quickly painted markings on to their face with greenish-blue dye. When the sails snapped taut, Constantin broke away to grab her arms, </p><p>"Rose, how did you get free?" He asked, </p><p>"Kurt... he... he let me go," she said weakly, </p><p>"That traitorous animal," Master de Courcillon said with sudden venom, "if I ever lay eyes on him-"</p><p>"You won't, master," Rose said, "he's dead. He shot himself after..."</p><p>"After?"</p><p>"After you left. He shot himself. He must have known the Guard would kill him anyway."</p><p>"Did he hurt you?"</p><p>"Yes," Rose looked down, "but it doesn't matter."</p><p>"Oh cousin-"</p><p>"It doesn't matter, Constantin. He's dead. We're not."</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>